Hyundai's Flying Taxis Tests in Indonesia and Future Prospects

TapTechNews August 5th news, according to a report by Nikkei News today, Hyundai Motor Company has carried out test activities of flying taxis near the new capital Nusantara in Indonesia.

Hyundai calls this flying vehicle the Optional Piloted Personal/Passenger Aircraft (OPPAV), which is developed with the help of air mobility technology through cooperation between Hyundai and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. In terms of specifications, this flying taxi can reach a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour and can carry 4 passengers, and the goal is to put it into use in 2030. In this test flight activity, the flying taxi completed a 10-minute flight in an 8-shaped pattern.

According to TapTechNews' previous report, during the CES2024 exhibition at the beginning of this year, Hyundai Motor showcased its latest eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) concept aircraft S-A2. Although known for manufacturing cars, this South Korean manufacturer is now turning its attention to the urban air mobility field.

S-A2 will be equipped with a cabin that can accommodate 4 passengers and be piloted by one pilot. Hyundai is ambitious and hopes that this aircraft can be officially put on the market in 2028. The goal of S-A2 is to provide safe, cost-effective and fast transportation solutions for urban areas.

For reference, the design range of this V-tailed eVTOL aircraft is 25 to 40 miles (40 to 64 kilometers), the maximum speed can reach 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour), and the cruising altitude is only 1500 feet (457 meters), and it will also adopt a new electric propulsion technology. In addition, S-A2 also performs excellently in terms of noise pollution. The noise is only 65 decibels when taking off and landing vertically, and drops to 45 decibels when cruising horizontally.